Mountain View Voice

Post office dedication for Lt. Ken Ballard

In a ceremony next Saturday, Mountain View's downtown post office will be dedicated to Ken Ballard, the Mountain View High School graduate who died in Iraq in 2004 as a United States Army lieutenant.

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and the United States Postal Service will host the dedication of a plaque for the post office at 211 Hope St. on Saturday, April 13, at 1 p.m.

Eshoo will speak at the event, along with one of Ballard's friends, a representative of the post office and Ballard's mother, Karen Meredith. A color guard will represent the military, along with members of the National Guard's 129th Air Rescue Wing based at Moffett Field.

Ballard was leading a platoon in Iraq in 2004 when fighting broke out. He was killed when he was accidentally cut down by the unmanned machine gun on his tank. He received three Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart, and he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, honored by over 500 people attending his funeral.

His mother later gained national attention for speaking out against the Iraq war.

Congress approved the dedication of the post office to Ballard, as did the City Council in a 5-0 vote, with council members John Inks and Tom Means abstaining.